European Championships, Budapest, day 4 finals:
Men 200m butterfly
Pawel Korzeniowski (POL), 2005 world champion and defending Euro king, claimed the crown in 1:55.00 ahead of Nikolay Skvortsov (RUS) on 1:56.13, with Ioannis Drymonakos (GRE) third in 1:57.10. The race had an edge to it.
The bronze medallist stopped the clock first in the 2008 final but was subsequently deprived of the title, which was handed to Korzeniowski, after he tested positive for a banned substance a couple of months later, in May 2008. The fly swimmer got caught out on March 6 - before Eindhoven and before the world s/c titles where he took a bronze medal, also stripped from him later on - in a domestic out-of-competition control: methyltrienolone - described by experts as a "highly toxic oral steroid" - was the choice of deception and Drymonakos served two years out, returning in late spring this year.
The champion had company in the shape of young teammate Marcin Cieslak down the first length, the 18-year-old on 25.95, to 25.99 for the man in the middle. Skvortsov took the helm on 55.07 at the half-way turn, Korzeniowski just 0.09sec back, the pack starting to fade. By the last turn, the Pole had the edge, 1:24.89 to 1:25.04 and then produced a 30.11 split for victory, the Russian on 31.09 to the wall.
Greek bronze was moulded off a 1:27.08 last turn in 6th place before a 30.02 race to the podium, the quickest last lap. Perhaps he knew that gold would not have been a popular colour for him to have won.
History unfolding:
Effect on race on all-time top 10: 0
Euro podiums:
- 2010: 1:55.00 - 1:57.10
- 2008: 1:54.38 - 1:56.57 [Drymonakos Ioannis, GRE, 1:54.16, subsequently DQ'd after testing positive for steroids in May 2008]
- 2006: 1:55.04 - 1:57.12
Euro finals:
- 2010: 1:55.00 - 1:59.70
- 2008: 1:54.38 - 1:58.90 [top 7: Drymonakos Ioannis, GRE, 1:54.16, subsequently DQ'd after testing positive for steroids in May 2008]
- 2006: 1:55.04 - 1:57.12
- Most Euro wins: Michael Gross (FRG/GER), 4
- Most Titles/Nation: GER, 5
- Tightest Podium: 2002 - gold to bronze - 0.44sec
From the archive: At its 1952 Congress in Helsinki, FINA decided on two distinct strokes: “Orthodox Breaststroke” and “Butterfly Breaststroke”. The timing of the decision favoured Europe: the first major international to see both breaststroke and butterfly events on the programme was the 1954 European Championships in Turin, Italy, an event dominated by a squad from Hungary, one thatincluded Gyorgy Tumpek, winner of the inaugural 200m butterfly in 2:32.2. Germans hold the record for most titles down the years, with 6, one of those to the GDR and four of them to one of the all-time greats of the sport, Michael Gross, winner of the European crown in 1981, 1983, 1985 and 1987. The first to win the crown inside 2mins in 1981 as a teenager, Gross kept the same man at bay in his last two victories - Benny Nielsen (DEN) - in the midst of a decade of European domination in this event.
Records
Shiny suit era
- WR: 1:51.51 Michael Phelps (USA) Jul 2009
- ER: 1:52.70 Laszlo Cseh (HUN) Aug 2008
February 1 2008
- WR: 1:52.09 Michael Phelps (USA) Mar 2007
- ER: 1:54.62 Franck Esposito (FRA) Apr 2002
